Divya Gugnani: Hi, I’m Divya Gugnani.
Sharon Ambramzon: And I’m Sharon Ambramzon.
Divya Gugnani: And we’re here at One if by Land.
Sharon Ambramzon: Two if by Sea
Divya Gugnani: One of New York’s city most romantic restaurants set in beautiful carriage house.
Sharon Ambramzon: Talked away in the West Village, the chef hit the market as innovative American Cuisine.
Divya Gugnani: So, let’s go behind the burner and have a very special holiday meal.
We’re here with executive chef Craig Hopson at One if by Land, Two if by Sea. Craig, I have a challenge for you today.
Craig Hopson: What’s this?
Divya Gugnani: The challenge is that this is the first time I’ve ever made woodpigeon. So, I’m looking for you to, you know, give me the tips, tricks and techniques. And the other is this is the first time I’ve ever worn an—in the kitchen so you—
Craig Hopson: You might be out of luck.
Divya Gugnani: If I get a dirty, it’s my responsibility.
Craig Hopson: Dirty, dirty pomegranates.
Divya Gugnani: So, let’s get started.
Craig Hopson: Well, we’re highlighting wild Scottish pigeons today. This guy is wild caught in Scotland and what we’re going to do, we’re going to make up a pistachio aioli like a mayonnaise and a pomegranate vinaigrette.
Divya Gugnani: When you make aioli and you know, people have heard that word many times, what’s an aioli first?
Craig Hopson: Aioli is essentially a mayonnaise but normally it is associated with garlic. I like to call it aioli because it’s a little bit more fancy.
Divya Gugnani: It’s pigeon time.
Craig Hopson: So, I dried up the excess blood with paper towel. I removed any excess blood and gizzards from the cavity and because when it cooks, blood would dry up and it will be really, really strong unpleasant taste.
Divya Gugnani: So, we now have a beautiful D'Artagnan wood pigeon that is ready to be cooked.
Craig Hopson: Yes it is. I’m going to drizzle some olive oil on it like this, just enough to give it a nice coat and then salt, just put salt on all sides and we’re ready to go on the inside.
Divya Gugnani: You’re being very generous with that salt.
Craig Hopson: With this salt, yes. Now, I’m going to grill. So, let’s leave this cooking on a low, low flame. I’m going to make sure every side is golden brown and beautifully nice and crispy. Now, we’re going to make the aioli; the main ingredient pistachio oil. This one is crushed from pistachio nuts, really, really good flavor. Okay, egg yolks, sugar, vinegar, salt, grape seed oil is going to go in it nice and slow drizzle. Okay and there we have it; a nice thick aioli.
Divya Gugnani: It’s a great creamy consistency.
Craig Hopson: It’s going to give some creaminess and got also a little lot of flavor; a real contrasting flavor. Next, pomegranate vinaigrette, I’m going to just buy this in the supermarket and to—
Divya Gugnani: And be fear-free your life when you’re pouring I so you don’t get it all over your clothes.
Craig Hopson: Be careful. We’re going to on the stove.
Divya Gugnani: And what are you looking for from here?
Craig Hopson: So, what we’re going to do, we’re going to go to a hard boil. I’m going to reduce it down. This is two cups of liquid; got to go down a half a cup. Okay here we are, about half a cup left, that’s one quarter of what we started with. I took this off the stove. This is verjuice; the juice of unripened grapes so I like this because it’s kind of I’m not going to crash too much but it’s still going to give that bite. And again, more grape cider, why?
Divya Gugnani: Neutral flavor.
Craig Hopson: There you go.
Divya Gugnani: Grape seed oil is great because you want to use it on anything when you need oil to sort of bind the dish, the sauce, whatever there is.
Craig Hopson: It’s going to give you that creaminess and that emulsification that oil gives it. Here’s our vinaigrette. Now the fun part—
Divya Gugnani: Some people get completely confused by pomegranate; they don’t know what to do with it?
Craig Hopson: Because they cut it straight in a half. And there we go, that’s all those great little seed. That’s probably what we’re going to eat. Now, what I like to do?
Divya Gugnani: Stay away, okay.
Craig Hopson: Are you ready?
Divya Gugnani: Yeah. Oh my God.
Craig Hopson: And a pomegranate.
Divya Gugnani: A meat mallet.
Craig Hopson: A meat mallet.
Divya Gugnani: Yes.
Craig Hopson: Hold it.
Divya Gugnani: You’re kidding me.
Craig Hopson: Dash it. See all those seeds coming out? These are your pomegranate seeds. The pigeon is ready.
Divya Gugnani: So, we’ve got pigeon, we’ve got partridge. It’s a very special thanksgiving today.
Craig Hopson: It is. So, you tend to see the richness of the pigeon but also the bite of that pomegranate; there’s a little and the creaminess of the pistachio.
Sharon Ambramzon: You really taste all the layering of the flavors. It’s amazing. I’ve never, yum!
Craig Hopson: That’s what I’m here for. So, you see how this one—the meat is very gummy but it’s also a white meat and the pomegranate kind of pairs well with earthy flavors
Divya Gugnani: So, Chef Hopson, thank you so much for a delectable thanksgiving family meal.
Craig Hopson: Thank you.
Sharon Ambramzon: Yes.
Craig Hopson: Great, thank you.
Divya Gugnani: Behind the Burner members can enjoy this exclusive opportunity to purchase Chef Hopson’s partridge and pigeon and other fine meats from D’Artagnan.
Stay tuned to Behind the Burner where we give you the tips, tricks and techniques that are lighting the culinary world on fire.
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